Muin & Ors S36-99 & Ors, Ex parte RRT & Anor (S36-99 & Ors) CHH

The applicants, Muin & Ors, sought leave to appeal from a decision of the Refugee Review Tribunal (RRT) to the High Court of Australia. The RRT had affirmed the decision of the Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs to refuse the grant of a protection visa to the applicants. Gaudron J, sitting in chambers, considered the application for leave to appeal.

The central legal issue before Gaudron J was whether the RRT had made an error of law in its assessment of the applicants' claims for protection. Specifically, the court was required to determine if the RRT had failed to properly consider or apply the relevant provisions of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth) and the *Migration Regulations 1994* (Cth) in relation to the assessment of whether the applicants had a well-founded fear of persecution.

Gaudron J noted that leave to appeal to the High Court from a decision of the RRT is generally granted only if the RRT's decision involves a question of law that is of public importance or in the interests of the administration of justice. Her Honour reviewed the RRT's decision and the grounds of appeal, ultimately concluding that no such question of law was raised. The RRT's findings of fact and its application of the law to those facts did not, in her Honour's view, warrant the intervention of the High Court.

Consequently, Gaudron J refused the applicants leave to appeal.